New Downtown Pizzeria Opening

Flourchild, 722 N. Milwaukee St. Photo taken March 7, 2022 by Dave Reid

A pizza joint two years in the making is finally ready to take the pie out of the oven and open its doors in Downtown. Flourchild pizza, located at 722 N. Milwaukee St., is now open, offering limited takeout. A full-service dining room will follow suit in about a month. Currently, the restaurant is offering takeout Thursdays and Fridays from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Carol Deptolla reports:

(Executive chef and Flourchild partner Andrew) Miller previously described Flourchild’s pizza crust as a meeting of New York, Detroit and New Haven styles; the dough ferments up to 90 hours before baking.

The Flourchild menu has a baker’s dozen of topping combinations, such as white sauce, fontina, cheese curds, roasted garlic and caramelized onion on the Curd Your Enthusiasm. Or vodka tomato sauce, meatballs, lemon ricotta, mozzarella, broccolini, pickled garlic and Calabrian chile on the Meatballin’ on a Budget. Pizzas are $19 to $25.

The menu also lists appetizers ($10 to $14, such as zucchini cakes with marinara); salads in two sizes ($8 or $9 and $13 or $14, such as spinach with goat cheese, candied cashews, roasted pepper and artichoke); mac and cheese ($16 to $21); and sandwiches ($16 and $17, including a double cheeseburger).

Bay View Bar to Launch Food Truck

The Mothership, a Bay View bar located at 2301 S. Logan Ave. and known for its love of Hamm’s beer and creative cocktails, will soon launch a new food truck specializing in “eccentric bar foods.” Named Gavilan after a Central American bird of prey, the food truck will make its debut at pop-ups at Boone & Crockett before settling into its permanent home outside of The Mothership sometime this spring. Tyler Maas reports:

The idea to expand into dining came about when Foxfire food truck closed last fall. Foxfire, which made specialty deli sandwiches for The Mothership to sell during its first few months in business, sold their truck to (The Mothership owner Ricky) Ramirez and Gavilán was born.

While the truck itself will be a familiar sight to some, the menu will be completely different than what Foxfire offered. There will be no chicken sandwiches. Instead, Gavilán chef Ryan Hoffman (who some might know as part of former Crossroads Collective tenant Mina Aperitivo) plans to offer eccentric takes on an eclectic blend of street foods and South Side bar cuisine.

Early menu items include “Spuds” (smashed and fried potatoes with “whatever sauce [they] feel like”), a chopped cheese sandwich, a breakfast sandwich, Spam fried rice, a “Lamb Dip” sandwich with birria-style consommé, and Mushroom & Artichoke Parm.

New Burger Shop At Zocolo Food Truck Park

A food truck offering burgers, fried chicken sandwiches and a Friday fish fry is opening at the Zocolo Food Truck Park this week. Owner Ramses Alvarez purchased the Dairyland Old Fashioned Burgers truck that recently had a residency at the park and repurposed it for his new venture. Opening on March 9, the truck will operate from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Deptolla reports:

At Brew’d Burger, double-patty burgers are the standard, and beers from Milwaukee’s New Barons are incorporated into ingredients, like the cheese sauce on one of the burgers, or used for braising the beef short ribs for the short rib sandwich. 

Other Brew’d sandwiches will be fried chicken, grilled cheese with braised pork belly, and smashed chorizo patty with guacamole and cheese sauce.

Alvarez also will serve carnitas poutine: beer-braised pork belly with cheese curds and jalapeño cheese sauce standing in for the traditional gravy over steak fries. 

Carribean Cocktail Bar For Brady Street

Concoctions, a Carribean-influenced bar, has plans to open up a second location on Brady Street, taking over the space that formerly housed FroZone. Located at 1316 E. Brady St., the second location will bring the customizable cocktails that Concoctions has built a reputation for, as well as a food menu — an aspect absent from the flagship location. Graham Kilmer reports:

This planned second Concoctions location will bring with it the owner’s unique method for drink service. When customers order, they choose both the cocktail they would like to drink and the choice of liquor they want with it, which is served in 50 ML mini bottles. Because the liquor is served in sealed bottles, the drinks can also be ordered to go.

New to the Brady Street location will be the addition of food. Hialeah Pulley, (owner Hyacinth) Nembhardt’s daughter and manager of the family businesses, said the food would be “nothing too big, or a major menu, just small things that people can snack on while they’re having their drinks.”

A menu included with a business application lists food like Jamaican Beef, Chick or Veggie Patties, and Coco Bread. The latter is a slightly sweet bread popular in Jamaica.

South Side Arabic Bakery Expanding

Bread House, an Arabic baker located on Milwaukee’s South Side at 6508 S. 27th St., has plans to move up the street into a larger location. The new space, located at 5326 S. 27th St., will allow the bakery to make all of its products on a daily basis. Kilmer reports: 

Along with baking pita and other flat breads, Bread House also serves them with toppings and fillings like meat, cheese, thyme or eggs. All the toppings are Halal — prepared as prescribed by Muslim law. One of their most popular toppings, (co-owner Renin) Abuzar said, is a spicy paste called muhammara.

The bakery also sells non-baked items like falafel, stuffed falafel and samboosa, an Ethiopian appetizer.

Abuzar said they are working to get all the licensing needed for the new place, adding that she hopes they can open in time for Ramadan in April.